parker



(No Model.)-

J. H. PARKER.

STRINGBD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 524,114. Patented Aug. 7, 1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. PARKER, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 524,114, dated August '7, 1894. Application filed October 2,1893. SerialNo.487,020. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN HENRY PARKER, of the city of Montreal, in the district of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stringed Musical Instruments; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to stringed musical instruments of the guitar and mandolin type, the object being to improve such instruments by rendering possible the use of a more eX- tended scale, and improving the tone, the in vention also comprehending an improved construction of tail piece whereby the rough portions of the strings are effectively covered up.

To the above ends the invention may be said to consist first in so shaping the body of the instrument adjacent to the neck piece that the hand of the player can be conveniently passed under the parts in the usual way and still reach the lowest extremity of such neck piece (which, with the present forms of bodies cannot be done) and this being the case I am able to extend the scale by adding any desired number of frets along the lower portion of the neck piece; and secondly in a tail piece bent at right angles and having two rows of openings in it, one row being situated on one side of the bend and formed by striking up tongue pieces from the metal, to allow the loops at the ends of the strings to be slipped over the tongue pieces, while the strings pass underneath the tail piece and out through the other row of openings, situated on the other side of the bend, thus covering up the rough portions of such strings near the loops.

For full comprehension however of the invention, referencemust be had to the annexed drawings forming a part of this specification in which like symbols indicate corresponding parts, and Wherein- Figure 1 is a plan View of a guitar body with portion only of neck piece showing; Fig. 2 the same view of like portions of a mandolin; Fig. 3 a like View of a complete instrument which I term a bandola; Fig. 4 a side elevation of same and Fig. 5 a detail side elevation of the portion of this latter to which the tail piece is attached.

In carrying out the first part of my invention, I diminish the cut away portions a a of the body of the instruments at either side of the neck I) thus allowing the hand of the player to reach the additional frets c c which I have introduced in the bandola (see Fig.-

3) in order to vest the instrument with a full scale.

Heretofore in guitar and mandolin playing it has been impossible to reach the lowermost frets with the hand passed around the instrument in the way required and consequently the extent of the scale has been restricted in this way, but it will be apparent at once that my invention overcomes such difficulty and greatly improves the capacity of the instrument. If desired, metal frets d, efcan be inserted at the nut and in the bridge of the instrument for the strings to bear upon.

The tail piece is formed of a single thin plate of metal bent at right angles to furnish a top section f and end section f the former having a row of openings g in it close to the bend and the end section having another row of openings h in itformed by the striking up of tongue portions 7'. The tail piece is secured in place by screws 7s passing through apertures in the end section f and the strings Z are placed in position with the looped ends fitting over the tongue portionsj and the main length passing through the openings 72., upward beneath the plate and out through the openings g, the rough twisted portions of the strings being beneath the plate.

What I claim is as follows:

1. A stringed musical instrument having a body and a neck piece bearing the scale and extending some distance over the surface of the body, such body being narrowed or cut away on either side adjacent to said neck piece for the purpose set forth.

2. A tail piece for stringed musical instruments bent substantially at right angles to afford sections respectively located over the top, and ring or band, of the instrument, and having a lower row of openings and a row of projecting tongue portions adjacent thereto in the section fitting over the rim, and a higher row of openings in the section fitting over the top, for the purpose set forth.

JOHN H. PARKER.

In presence of- FRED. J. SEARS, B. A. O. KIMLER. 

